Tag Archives: apple butter

My selection of home-canned fruit preserves is quite large, almost to the point of embarrassing. Seriously, who needs 15 different varieties of jam and jelly when you know peach, grape, and strawberry are all that you reach for? I needed to get my recipe wheels spinning and come up with some new ways to start using up what I’ve put up!

Apple Explosion Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup oat flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup vanilla soy milk -regular milk can also be used

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup grapeseed oil or another neutral oil, such as sunflower

1 cup apple pie filling

1 pint apple butter

sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium bowl whisk together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl combine eggs, milk, vanilla, brown sugar, and oil. Gently fold in the apple pie filling. Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until barely blended; be careful to not over mix the batter or your muffins will become tough. Fill muffin cups halfway with batter then spoon in 1 tsp of the apple butter, top off with more batter. Lightly dust on a bit of granulated sugar and a sprinkling of sliced almonds. Bake for 20 minutes at 400°F or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before eating.

Like this:

Many moons ago, I cooked up my first batch of apple butter. It was surprisingly simple and tasted better than anything I had growing up; and from what I remember, the jars my mom would bring home tasted pretty darn amazing! This no-fail low-maintenance method is my constant go-to when making apple butter. It is so easy you’ll wonder why anyone would choose a different route!

If you want to make apple butter, the first thing you need to do is make applesauce: read – a perfect recipe for putting up during the off-season! The directions for unsweetened applesauce are in the beginning of the linked recipe; although, I highly encourage anyone who loves vanilla and maple to make the “awesome sauce”. Trust me, you will not be disappointed! When apples come into season this year, I’m making a batch of vanilla-maple apple butter!

Apple Butter – yields approximately 9 pints

9 qts unsweetened applesauce

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground allspice

4 cups sugar

Place 6 qts of applesauce in your slow-cooker (or however much fills it to within 1-inch of the rim), add the spices and 2 cups of sugar; mix well. Set heat to high and cook for an hour with the lid vented; resting the lid on a long wooden spoon works well. Reduce the heat to low and allow to continue cooking for an additional 8-10 hours.

Once the mixture has been reduced by half, add the remaining applesauce and sugar. Stir and cook several more hours allowing the flavors to mix. When the apple butter has reached your desired thickness, using an immersion blender, purée mixture into a creamy consistency. Ladle into hot, sterilized, half-pint jars and remove air bubbles; wipe rims, add two-piece lids and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes, or for as long as your altitude requires.